Hert met spoor 1751

Johann Elias Ridinger made this print, “Hert met spoor”, whose date is unknown, using etching. Ridinger, living between the late 17th and mid-18th centuries, occupied a unique position in a society undergoing significant transformations in its relationship with nature. He made many depictions of animals, primarily for aristocratic hunting parties. These were luxury items, but also functioned as instruction manuals. This print depicts a doe in a forest environment, paired with detailed depictions of its tracks in different soil conditions. This reflects a world where understanding the natural world was both a practical skill and a marker of social status. However, It also raises questions about our relationship with the environment and the ethics of hunting. What does it mean to study and represent nature with such precision, only to then pursue and kill it? Perhaps this tension is what makes Ridinger's work so compelling, as it invites us to reflect on our own complex relationship with the natural world.